Method and means for keeping cables dry

ABSTRACT

The sheath around underground communication cables is opened at low points at frequent intervals. A sleeve is placed around the opening in the sheath and a tap in the sleeve drains fluid to a metalic cylinder. The cylinder contains a float valve so that water can drain from the cable into the cylinder and the cylinder is open at the bottom so the water may drain into the soil. The float valve prevents ground water from flowing into the cable. The cylinder may be electrically bonded to the sheath in which instance it acts as an anode for electrolytic corrosion protection.

United States Patent Ray 145] Apr. 11, 1972 [54] METHOD AND MEANS FORKEEPING 2,859,270 11/1958 Patchin ..174/16 R CABLES DRY 3522113 3/133?11 "112/12 1% 1 om son et 72 Inventor: Jimmy (3. Ray, Route 2, 1 ,0. Box33, p

- Denison, Tex. 75020 FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS [22] Filed: Jan.4, 1971 530,404 12/1940 Great Britain ..174/1 1 R [211 App! PrimaryExaminer-Laramie E. Askin 1 Attorney-Charles W. Coffee [52] U.S.Cl...l74/llR, 174/6, 174/14 R,

174/16 R, 174/37, 204/196 [57] ABSTRACT {g f g The sheath aroundunderground communication cables is 174/16 R R R 68 opened at low pointsat frequent intervals. A sleeve is placed 70 71 1 4 around the openingin the sheath and a tap in the sleeve drains fluid to a metaliccylinder. The cylinder contains a float valve so that water can drainfrom the cable into the cylinder and [56] References Cited the cylinderis open at the bottom so the water may drain into UMTED STATES PATENTSthe soil. The float valve prevents ground water from flowing into thecable. The cylinder may be electrically bonded to the l g z sheath inwhich instance it acts as an anode for electrolytic 1 1 0 corrosionrotection. 1,981,535 11/1934 Zapf ..174/11 R p 2,259,129 10/1941 Engster..174/l5 C 13 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure p s o I Patented April 11, 19723,655,905

.lumunw g JIMMY CRAY INVENTOR. \4-4 2-}.

BY Q

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to communications andmore particularly to underground buried cables carrying a plurality ofpairs of wires to transmit telephone communications.

2. Description of the Prior Art In present day communications,electrical impulses carrying the communication are carried on pairs ofwire and several hundred pairs of wire are bundled together and enclosedin a metal sheath, which is itself enclosed in a rubber or syntheticrubber sheath and buried under the ground. These cables are customarilyspliced by cutting away the rubber and the metal sheath and after thesplice is performed, placing a metal sheath over the open place andsoldering the metal sleeve to the metal sheath. Normally a lead sleeveis used and it is also fluidly sealed to the rubber sheath. In heavilypopulated areas, such as in downtown metropolitan areas, the cable isthen run in a masonry conduit, or perhaps in a metal conduit buried inthe ground. However, in rural areas or less populated areas, the cableis buried directly in the ground. Close to the central office, in someinstallations, a positive gas seal or dry gas is carried on the cable sothe gas pressure on the inside of the metal and plastic sheath preventsmoisture from entering the cable. However, at greater distances from thecentral office, the rubber and metal sheath themselves are expected toprevent the entry of moisture into the cable.

Because of various factors, often the cables do not remain impervious topassage of moisture. Then water enters the cables. It is detrimentalwhen the water enters the cables. The moisture in the cable causes noiseor static in communicatrons.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 1. New and Different Function 1 have solved theproblem by first discovering that these cables do often get moisture inthem and second, by determining how to drain the moisture from thecables. I achieve this by making a rough determination of where the lowpoints of the cable are. Often the cable will have a low point everythousand feet or so. Then at each low point a drain is installed. Thedrain includes a oneway float valve so the water can drain out of thecable, but no water can flow into the cable. I have discovered that whatappears to be a siphoning action will occur; therefore, even though theexact low point of the cable is not precisely determined, the cable willdrain. I have also discovered that it is desirable to place these drainsperiodically. I.e., even though there is no low point for a length oftwo thousand feet, it is desirable to place a drain about every 1,000 or2,000 feet in the cable even though there is no low point. Certainlyeach time the cable is spliced in any event and a sleeve is placed onthe cable, it is desirable to place a drain at that point. The draintube is made of copper or zinc so that the valve body or cylinder alsoacts as an anode, giving electolytic corrosion protection to the cablesheath as is known.

2. Objects of this Invention An object of this invention is to improvecommunications.

Another object of this invention is to drain water from undergroundcables.

A further object is to provide electrolytic corrosion protection forburied underground communication cables.

Other objects are to achieve the above with a device that is sturdy,compact, durable, lightweight, simple, safe, efficient, versatile, andreliable yet inexpensive and easy to manufacture, install, and maintain.

Still further objects are to achieve the above with a method that isversatile, rapid, efficient, and inexpensive, and does not requireskilled people to install, adjust, and maintain.

The specific nature of the invention, as well as other objects, uses,and advantages thereof, will clearly appear from the followingdescription and from the accompanying drawing, which is not necessarilyto scale.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The drawing is a sectional view of atypical installation embodying my invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT CATALOG OF ELEMENTS 10 cable 12wires 14 sheath, metal 16 sheath, rubber 18 cut away 20 sleeve 21 tapeinsulating 22 nipple 24 nut 26 head 28 cylinder 30 bore 32 valve seat 34O-ring 36 ball 38 slug 40 depression 42 screw 44 screen 46 ground wireDESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to thedrawing, cable10 contains a plurality of pairs of insulated wires 12. The wires 12 arecarried within metal sheath 14 which itself is encased in rubber sheath16. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that this rubbersheath is probably a synthetic material and might be commonly calledplastic. As illustrated, the rubber sheath '16 and metal sheath 14 havebeen cut away in area 18...-ln this area, metal sleeve 20 has beenapplied over the cut away portion. The metal sleeve is bonded as bysoldering or wiping to the sheath 14 on either end. In addition, themetal sleeve 20 is fluidly sealed to the rubber sheath 16 by adhesivetape 21 so that it is watertight if the connection is properly made.Thus, the sleeve 20 is electrically connected, water tight, to the metalsheath 14; furthermore, the sleeve 20 is bonded with a watertight jointto the rubber sheath l6.

What has been described above about the cable 10 and the sleeve 20 andtheir installation are standard telephone practices and the installationof sleeves on standard cables are well understood by those having skillin the art.

A small threaded nipple 22 is installed in the bottom, lower part of thesleeve. Nut 24 forming a portion of head 26 is threaded to the nipple22. Valve body or tube or cylinder 28 is attached as by soldering to thehead 26. The nut 24 is soldered or connected to the head 26 to form awatertight connection.

The head 26 has a bore or opening 30 therethrough so there is an openpassageway for moisture or water from the cable 10 into the cylinder 28.

About a third of the way from the top, valve seat 32 is installed in thecylinder 28. I have found synthetic, non-corrosive material suitable forthis valve seat. The seat 32 is connected into the inside of thecylinder 28. The valve seat 32 is a thick disc and the outside diameterof the seat fits snugly in the inside bore or diameter of the cylinder28. A notch with O- ring 34 in the circumferential wall of the valveseat 32 provides a watertight seal to the inside wall of the cylinder28. Ball 36 forms a valve and is placed immediately below the valve seat32. The valve ball 36 is also made of lightweight, synthetic materialhaving good corrosion resistance and also having a specific gravity ofless than one so that it floats in water. The cylinder 28 is mountedvertically, depending downwardly from the nipple 22. Therefore, in theevent water should rise in the cylinder 28, the valve ball 36 will floatand seat against valve seat 32, preventing water from rising above thevalve seat 32.

In order to hold the valve ball 36 in place and to increase the pressureon the valve ball against seat 32, a float slug 38 is inserted into thecylinder 28 below the valve ball. The float slug 38 is made of syntheticfoam material such as foamed polyurethane. Various and sundry floatmaterials are well known to the arts, particularly to the water-sportarts. The upper surface of the slug 38 has a arcuate depression 40 sothat it acts to guide the valve ball 36 into place. The slug 38 itselfis held in place by a self-tapping screw 42 inserted through the wall ofthe cylinder 28 beneath the slug 38. The bottom of the cylinder 28 isclosed by screen 44 to prevent rodents and the like from entering thebottom of the cylinder.

To determine where to install these devices, a survey of the cable routeis made. Generally I have found that people normally experienced inlaying these cables can make these surveys visually without the use ofinstruments. A rough sketch is made showing the elevations at 500-footintervals (one-tenth of a mile) and the location of already projectedsleeves marked. Then at each low point a sleeve with a drain cylinder isinstalled. Normally the drain cylinders will not be installed at closerintervals than 1,000 feet. Also, normally, even though there is not adetected low point, a drain cylinder should be installed about every2,000 feet. If the drain is to be installed at a location not otherwisehaving a splice and sleeve, the metal sheath I4 and rubber sheath 16need only be opened by slitting at the bottom and the sleeve 20installed over the opening so made.

I have found that even though the drain cylinders are not installed atan exact low point, there will be a siphon action which will drain themoisture from the cable and maintain the cable dry even though thedrains are not precisely located.

Normally, the installation of communication cables will be designed bytechnical personnel and perhaps the installation will be supervised bytechnical personnel. In any event, these engineers will determinewhether or not it is desired to use the cylinder body 28 as a ground oranode. If it is determined that the cable will not be grounded at thedrain, the nipple 22 will be made of a nonconductive material such asNylon and ground wire 46 will not be connected to the sleeve 20. If itis desired that the cable 10 will be grounded at this point and thecylinder 28 serve as an anode for electrolytic corrosion protection,then the ground wire 46 will be electrically bonded to the cable 10.

As seen in the drawing, one end of the wire 46 inserts into a notchexisting between the head 26 and the sleeve 28. The bonding of theground wire 46 to the cable can be done in two manners. As illustratedin the drawing, the ground wire 46 is bonded directly to the sleeve 20.Another method of installation (which has not been illustrated in thedrawing), is that another ground wire could be connected to the sleeveand extended upward to an above-ground post and the two wireselectrically bonded together above the ground. As stated, the decisionas to what type of bonding would be used is made by the technicalpersonnel designing the installation of the cable.

Normally, the sleeve 28 will be made of copper. However, if thetechnical personnel designing the cable specifies, it may be made ofzinc. I

Also, the installation of these devices will be in a pit dug for thatpurpose and the pit will be filled with pea gravel so the water from theopen end of the bottom of the sleeve is readily drainable.

Therefore, it may be seen that I have provided a device which not onlydrains the water from the cable, but also serves as an anode forelectrolytic corrosion resistance to the cable.

The embodiment shown and described aboveis only exemplary. I do notclaim to have invented all the parts, elements or steps described.Various modifications can be made in the construction, material,arrangement, and operation, and still be within the scope of myinvention. The limits of the invention and the bounds of the patentprotection are measured by and defined in the following claims. Therestrictive description and drawing of the specific example above do notpoint out what an infringement of this patent would be, but are toenable the reader to make and use the invention.

I claim as my invention: 1. In an underground cable including a. aplurality of wires enclosed in a b. metal sheath, 0. the improvedstructure to maintain the cable dry comprismg: d. an'opening in themetal sheath, e. a sleeve surrounding the opening f. sealed to thesheath, g. a depending nipple h. tapped into the bottom of the sleeve,j. a vertical cylinder k. depending from the nipple m. in fluid flowingrelationship to the inside of the cable, n. said cylinder open at thebottom, and o. valve means in the cylinder for permitting water to flowout of the cable and cylinder and for preventing water from flowing intothe upper portion of the cylinder and into the cable. 2. The inventionas defined in claim I with the additional limitation of p. a screen inthe bottom of the cylinder. 3. The invention as defined in claim 1 withthe additional limitations of p. a ground wire electrically connectingthe cylinder to the sleeve, q. said cylinder being made of copper. 4.The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said valve means includes p.a valve seat sealed within the cylinder, q. a ball valve below the seat,r. said ball valve having a specific gravity less than one so that itfloats in water, and s. a float slug below the ball valve to help forceit up on said seat. 5. The invention as defined in claim 4 wherein saidvalve seat is t. a synthetic disc with u. an O-ring in itscircumferential wall sealed to the cylinder. 6. The invention as definedin claim 5 with the additional limitations of v. a ground wireelectrically connecting the cylinder to the sleeve, w. said cylinderbeing made of copper. 7. The invention as defined in claim 6 with theadditional limitation of x. a screen in the bottom of the cylinder. 8.The method of maintaining dry underground cables, said cables includinga. a plurality of wires enclosed in a b. metal sheath, c. comprising thesteps of: d. opening the metal sheath at periodic intervals, dd. andateach opening, e. placing a sleeve around the'opening, f. sealing thesleeve to the sheath, g. tapping the bottom of the sleeve, h. permittingliquids to flow from the sleeve through the tap, and j. responsive tothe level of liquid outside the sleeve preventing liquids from flowinginto the sleeve from the tap. 9. The invention as defined in claim 8with the additional limitations of v k. said metal sheath enclosed in arubber sheath and m. sealing said sleeve to said rubber sheath. 10. Theinvention as defined in claim 8 with the additional limitation of k.electrically bonding the sleeve which is metal to a cylinder whichcylinder is also used in said prevention of liquids from flowing intothe sleeve. 11. The invention as defined in claim 8 with the additionallimitation of k. placing said sleeves at low points in the cable.

3 ,65 5 ,905 5 6 12. The invention as defined in claim 11 with theadditional 13. The invention as defined in claim 12 with the additionallimitation of limitations of m. electrically bonding the sleeve which ismetal to a Saidmeta! Sheath in a rubber Sheath and cylinder whichcylinder is also used in said prevention of sealmg Sald Sleeve to 531drubber Sheathliquids from flowing into the sleeve.

1. In an underground cable including a. a plurality of wires enclosed ina b. metal sheath, c. the improved structure to maintain the cable drycomprising: d. an opening in the metal sheath, e. a sleeve surroundingthe opening f. sealed to the sheath, g. a depending nipple h. tappedinto the bottom of the sleeve, j. a vertical cylinder k. depending fromthe nipple m. in fluid flowing relationship to the inside of the cable,n. said cylinder open at the bottom, and o. valve means in the cylinderfor permitting water to flow out of the cable and cylinder and forpreventing water from flowing into the upper portion of the cylinder andinto the cable.
 2. The invention as defined in claim 1 with theadditional limitation of p. a screen in the bottom of the cylinder. 3.The invention as defined in claim 1 with the additional limitations ofp. a ground wire electrically connecting the cylinder to the sleeve, q.said cylinder being made of copper.
 4. The invention as defined in claim1 wherein said valve means includes p. a valve seat sealed within thecylinder, q. a ball valve below the seat, r. said ball valve having aspecific gravity less than one so that it floats in water, and s. afloat slug below the ball valve to help force it up on said seat.
 5. Theinvention as defined in claim 4 wherein said valve seat is t. asynthetic disc with u. an O-ring in its circumferential wall sealed tothe cylinder.
 6. The invention as defined in claim 5 with the additionallimitations of v. a ground wire electrically connecting the cylinder tothe sleeve, w. said cylinder being made of copper.
 7. The invention asdefined in claim 6 with the additional limitation of x. a screen in thebottom of the cylinder.
 8. The method of maintaining dry undergroundcables, said cables including a. a plurality of wires enclosed in a b.metal sheath, c. comprising the steps of: d. opening the metal sheath atperiodic intervals, dd. and at each opening, e. placing a sleeve aroundthe opening, f. sealing the sleeve to the sheath, g. tapping the bottomof the sleeve, h. permitting liquids to flow from the sleeve through thetap, and j. responsive to the level of liquid outside the sleevepreventing liquids from flowing into the sleeve from the tap.
 9. Theinvention as defined in claim 8 with the additional limitations of k.said metal sheath enclosed in a rubber sheath and m. sealing said sleeveto said rubber sheath.
 10. The invention as defined in claim 8 with theadditional limitation of k. electrically bonding the sleeve which ismetal to a cylinder which cylinder is also used in said prevention ofliquids from flowing into the sleeve.
 11. The invention as defined inclaim 8 with the additional limitation of k. placing said slEeves at lowpoints in the cable.
 12. The invention as defined in claim 11 with theadditional limitation of m. electrically bonding the sleeve which ismetal to a cylinder which cylinder is also used in said prevention ofliquids from flowing into the sleeve.
 13. The invention as defined inclaim 12 with the additional limitations of n. said metal sheathenclosed in a rubber sheath and o. sealing said sleeve to said rubbersheath.